Kenny Omega Addresses Tiger Driver '91 Criticism

It was the big talking point from one of the best matches of the year, when Will Ospreay hit Kenny Omega with the seldom seen and highly dangerous Tiger Driver ’91 at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II on June 25.

The move - innovated by Mitsuharu Misawa in All Japan Pro Wrestling - saw Ospreay drive Omega into the mat onto his shoulders and neck at a high angle, and divided fan opinion online. However, Omega himself has addressed such critics of the spot, saying the following during an interview with Sports Illustrated:

“There are a lot of people criticising who do not have my best interests at heart. They just want to put a dark mark on that match, which is a performance I’m extremely proud of. And performances like that will be few and far between as I get older and older,” began Omega.

Omega continued, noting how being able to perform such spots differentiates himself from the fans:

“In terms of a live and physical performance, I’ve never seen anything more mind-blowing - skill-wise, performance-wise, production-wise - than Cirque du Soleil. To me, that’s the peak form of that style of entertainment. As I watch these shows and their stunts and their compositions for every scene, it is rare for me to go, ‘That looks easy. I could do that.’ But there certainly are times when I watch what they do and know this is their identity, and that is the reason why they’re on that stage.

“During the high flying acrobatics, or seamlessly strung together choreography, I never go, ‘How stupid is this guy? If he falls, he’s dead.’ We’d be dead if we tried that. But here’s the thing. We’re not them. We’ll never be them. We weren’t meant to be them.”

Whilst some applauded Ospreay and Omega for putting it all on the line with the manoeuvre, others were horrified and poured scorn on the spot. But Omega was blunt when describing what he thinks of such opinions:

“There are people who want to complain and put themselves on a pedestal by saying what we did was dangerous,” said Omega. “Well, you think? So I’ve been asked, why did we do it? It made sense in the match and evoked emotion. And we both knew I would end up coming out of the move unscathed. Is there a risk? Sure. There’s always a risk.

“Look at the way Mike Tyson boxed. His style was so dangerous, he stayed so close to his opponent. What was he doing boxing in-style? Shouldn’t he have fought more stick-and-move and waited for the counterpunch? Wouldn’t that have been better for his brain? Didn’t he understand how dangerous it was? But that’s what made him Mike Tyson.

“Don’t tell me not to wrestle the way I know how to wrestle. Is there a risk? Was there a risk when Mike Tyson was fighting within inches of space between another championship-level boxer throwing power punches? Of course. But Tyson was confident in his abilities, and he knew he was the best. So don’t tell Mike Tyson how to box, and don’t tell Tyson Smith how to wrestle. You aren’t even close to being qualified. Just shut the f*** up.”

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